As a Korean who grew up in Seoul, I’m stoked to share 25 must-try Korean Street Food!
In NYC, we’ve got our halal carts and Mexican takeaway.
What I sorely miss about Korea, however, are all the street food vendors. And not all of them are actually in the form of street stalls (which used to be more common when I was a kid).
You can find delicious street food, called boon-shik (분식), at casual sit-down restaurants. Somewhere in between a McDonald’s and a Sweetgreens (hard to imagine, I know).
I’m here to share all the delicious Korean street food options you really can’t miss while in Korea. Food is love in many cultures and religions, and it certainly is in Korean culture, as well.
With that, let’s dive into the 15 top Korean Street Food!
Top Korean Street Food
Best Snacks from Street Food Stalls
1. Bungeo-ppang (붕어빵): Fish-shaped puffs
Hooo, hooo (호호), I’d blow on my fingers as I plucked out the streaming hot carp-shaped waffles with my teeny baby fingers.
I’d then wince in worth-it pain as I chewed open the little fishies to melted batter and sweet red bean paste.
There’s no fish flavor or taste; it’s simply the shape of these legendary street snacks, especially popular when the weather is cold and dark & the heart’s in need of some comfort food respite.
2. Korean Fish Cake – Odeng (오뎅)
Yet another delightful way to burn your mouth in the winter time!
Odeng are fish cakes typically served on a skewer, in a fishy, seafood broth (which is unlimited when dealing with street food carts).
It’s a great post-drinking snack – a way to (hopefully) lighten your hangover.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to lather on soy sauce to the skewers (typically found in a shared bottle or in a pot with a cooking brush). And of course get the free refills of the broth, which usually comes in a paper cup!
3. Spicy Rice Cakes – Tteokbokki (떡볶이)
The Korean street food classic: spicy rice cake!
I won’t judge you if you find tteokbokki too spicy (just kidding, I probably will).
Tteokbokki sold by street vendors typically has thicker, more pillowy rice cakes. Whereas the tteokbokki sold by casual restaurants usually have thinner rectangular slices of rice cake.
It’s like the difference between thicc steak fries and McDonald’s french fries. One is not “better” than the other. You might crave one version over the other depending on your mood and hunger levels.
Pro Tip: Want to eat tteokbokki like a Korean? No one will judge you if you mix a few slices of odeng into the tteokbokki sauce.
More common, though, is adding a variety of fried side dishes to the tteokbokki, which we’ll cover next!
4. Assorted Fried Side Dishes (튀김)
A platter of tteokbokki is lonely without assorted fried dishes!
My personal favorites are: squid (오징어), shrimp (새우) and sweet potatoes (고구마).
The veggie one (야채) also usually slaps.
Pro Tip: Order 3-4 pieces and don’t be shy, add them directly to the tteokbokki! You’re meant to enjoy the fried dishes with the gochujang-based tteokbokki sauce.
If you want a lighter vibe, enjoy with some soy sauce instead!
5. Fried Seaweed Roll (김말이)
Okay… I know you’re about to call me out: kim-malee is, in fact, one of the fried dish options.
But I had to give her a special shoutout!
Kim-malee is a seaweed roll stuffed with clear noodles and fried.
It makes tteokbokki much more like a meal when you combine the savory punch from kim-malee, plus the protein from say fried squid.
6. Korean Blood Sausage – Sundae (순대)
Not gonna lie, I stopped eating sundae when I was in elementary school, after my friend told me it was made using pig’s blood.
Specifically, pig intestines are stuffed with clear noodles, them stewed in pig’s blood.
But I still remember how good it tastes; it’s salty, and has a heavy savoriness that comes from the fact that it’s stewed in pig’s blood for so long.
My mom’s always said that it’s not too different from sausage (which is traditionally made using pig’s intestines as its outer shell) and Spam (mystery meat to me; it’s tasty af tho).
Fair enough! I guess in that vein, sundae is basically Korean sausage.
Sundae usually comes with a side of liver. That stuff is tasty; if you like the thickness of foie gras, you’ll appreciate this budget version.
Pro Tip: Dip the sundae and liver with generous portions of the salt-and-pepper mix provided by the food stall!
7. Chicken Skewers (닭꼬치)
As a kid, this was the ultimate refuel snack. After hours-long battles on the playground and parting with massive amounts of sweat, I’d eye my friends with lingering jealousy as they used their allowance to buy a cheap chicken skewer off the street.
“They use pigeon meat, that’s how it’s so cheap,” my mom used to say. That’s the urban legend, isn’t it? Classic city tales.
8. Dalgona, as seen on Squid Game (달고나 / 뽑기)
In Squid Game, the contestants must slice out the shapes out from the thin dalgona plates (made from melted sugar).
How it works is that if you can slice out just the character or shape in the dalgona (traditional this is a shape like a heart or star), then you can get another one for free.
Though till this day, I have never succeeded. Perhaps I wouldn’t have fared well on Squid Game after all 💀
9. Egg Bread – Gyeran-ppang (계란빵)
Who doesn’t love carbs, right?
But what makes Korean egg bread so delectable is that it’s made on the spot.
A fluffy, waffle-esque batter is added onto a whole egg to create this fluffy delight. Sweet yet savory, it’s the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.
10. Puffed grain crisps (뻥튀기)
An oldie, but a goodie.
Don’t sleep on the rather boring looking brown plates of popped grain.
Just sweet enough, much nutty scent from the grain – you’ll find yourself devouring plate after plate. Love popcorn or those Quaker Rice Crisps?
Oh, you’ll fall in love with these…
11. Silkworm Pupa – Beondegi (번데기)
Yes, you read that right.
I’ve never had the guts to try beondegi, but apparently it’s tasty.
I’d get appalled as I’d walk by vendors toasting the silkworm pupa. The scent is very specific; a burnt, pervasive, unmistakable smell.
Well, perhaps as alternative proteins become more relevant in this populous modern world, beondegi will see a more global rise. Why not try it while you’re here?
Best Trendy Snacks Found In Myeongdong
12. Korean Corndog (핫도그)
Oooo boy. The visual variety in Korean corndogs is dazzling and mouthwatering.
As a visitor, you might be staying in Myeongdong, the Times Square of Seoul.
Chances are, then, you’ve wrestled with if to get a Korean corndog. I’d totally recommend it! Although depending on the vendor, the fries-stuck-on-corn-dog might look better than it tastes.
Pro Tip: For wickedly crispy and delicious Korean corndogs, check out the viral franchise, Myungrang Hotdog (명랑핫도그)!
13. Glazed Fruit on a Skewer
Equally (if not more) alluring are the twinkling glazed strawberries and fruit on a skewer, also everywhere around Myeongdong.
14. Fried Tornado Potato
I’m beginning to realize that the Myeongdong street food basically resembles American carnival food!
The more festive and nonsensical, the better!
The twisty, turny fried potato slices stuck on a skewer fit the bill.
15. Foot-Long Soft Serve
In America, we have footlong Subway cookies.
Well, in Korea, we have foot-long soft serves!
More specifically, 32cm, which is about 12.6 inches.
16. Hotteok (호떡)
Hotteok is a traditional, cinnamony Korean pancake. But don’t sleep on it just because it’s an OG recipe!
The best kind of hotteok, of course, is the one made on-the-spot by a Korean lady, on a piping hot griddle.
Take one bite and the melted golden brown sugar might just slip out onto the corners of your mouth. I guarantee this sweet treat will satiate your sweet tooth.
Best Snacks from Korean Subway Stations
The Korean subway is nothing dingy like the NYC and SF systems! So, I’d argue it’s not really gross (at all!) to buy from these casual food vendors found in subway stops.
17. Walnut Puff Pastry – Hodu-gwaja (호두과자)
Do you love peanut butter? Or maybe Chinese-style walnut cookies?
Then you’ll appreciate the nutty goodness that is hodu-gwaja. The exterior of this walnut-shaped pastry is stuffed with red bean paste and walnut chunks.
This is the type of random food that I miss when I’m back in the US!
18. Korean Street Toast by Issac Toast (이삭토스트)
You know when a franchise offers something that becomes so culturally unique that the brand name is the thing? Like McDonald’s fries (have you caught on that I’m a McD fiend yet?).
Well, Isaac Toast (pronounced “ee-sak” in Korean) has become just that for Korean street toast.
It’s a sweet and savory breakfast toast, with shredded lettuce doused in a sweet sauce and ham akin to Spam, in between two white slices of bread.
19. Kimbap (김밥)
Near and inside commuter-crazy subway stations, you might just find a Korean lady surrounded by a gigantic heap of kimbap positively gleaming in sheets of aluminum foil.
Inside the kimbap is yellow Korean pickled radish (단무지), blanched spinach, sausage (or bulgogi if we getting fancy), carrot slices and egg roll.
Then the seaweed exterior is glazed with decadent sesame oil and sprinkled with sesame seeds for that extra umami touch.
Why not play a Korean local and grab a sleeve of kimbap to go!
Best Casual Meals from Casual Korean Restaurants
These boon-shik spots are usually hole-in-the-wall sized franchises that are focused on delivery and to-go orders.
They usually have limited seating for in-person patrons to recharge and eat in-person.
20. Korean Fried Chicken (치킨)
There’s Kentucky Fried Chicken, then there’s Korean Fried Chicken…
Pro Tip: There’s two types of KFC in Korea. There’s the hot wings type, for which I’d recommend the bb.q Chicken franchise (there’s US locations, too!).
There’s also the rotisserie-chicken vibe, which is enjoyed without gooey sauces and typically with beer and soju. For that, Hannam-dong Hanbang Chicken (한남동한방통닭) is the OG!
21. Dakgangjeong (닭강정)
Dakgangjeong is basically popcorn chicken but with a sweet-and-savory glaze! It’s as addicting as it sounds.
You might bump into smol dakgangjeong franchises that offer a cup of these fried nuggets in a cup, typically also with chewy rice cake.
22. Ramen (라면)
How is ramen at the boon-shik restaurant always so much better than when cooked at home?!
If you love shin ramen, I figure most of these boon-shik restaurants use their spicy sauce as their soup base.
It’s of course more economical to make it by yourself, if you so think that way, but the restaurants usually add green onions, flavorful onion and other goodies to make that broth pop even more.
23. Rabokki (라볶이)
Can’t pick between getting tteokbokki or a bowl of ramen?
Well, this dish is for you.
Noodles and oodles are mixed in with the thicker goodness of spicy tteokbokki sauce. It’s a carb on carb platter of goodness.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to add the assorted fried dishes and kim-malee!
24. Korean Shaved Ice – Bingsu (팥빙수)
Nothing cools me down (or my innards after a spicy meal) like bingsu!
Korean shaved ice comes in many flavors, including those that come with a scoop of ice cream on top (like strawberry or vanilla).
For the most authentic experience (and the tastiest most of the time, imo), get the OG, which comes with shaved ice in condensed milk, topped with sweet red beans and chewy mochi pieces.
Best Snacks from Korean Convenience Stores
25. Korean Triangle Kimbap (삼각김밥)
Strangely, one of the foods I miss the most is Korean triangle rice from the convenience store!
I always get the tuna mayonnaise flavor. At around 1 USD (1,500 KRW), it’s a super affordable but highly satisfying snack.
Pro Tip: For the authentic Korean experience, pair the triangle kimbap with Banana Milk, which comes in a cylindrical-ish semi-clear plastic bottle!
Best Korean Street Food (Conclusion)
In this guide, we went over the best Korean street food.
Korean cuisine is incredibly varied and represents, I think, the richness, breadth and length of Korean culture.
Part of our rich culture can be experienced through popular Korean street foods easily found in the streets of South Korea.
- Bungeo-ppang (붕어빵): Fish-shaped puffs
- Korean Fish Cake – Odeng (오뎅)
- Spicy Rice Cakes – Tteokbokki (떡볶이)
- Assorted Fried Side Dishes (튀김)
- Fried Seaweed Roll (김말이)
- Korean Blood Sausage – Sundae (순대)
- Chicken Skewers (닭꼬치)
- Dalgona, as seen on Squid Game (달고나 / 뽑기)
- Egg Bread – Gyeran-ppang (계란빵)
- Puffed grain crisps (뻥튀기)
- Silkworm Pupa – Beondegi (번데기)
- Korean Corndog (핫도그)
- Glazed Fruit on a Skewer
- Fried Tornado Potato
- Foot-Long Soft Serve
- Hotteok (호떡)
- Walnut Puff Pastry – Hodu-gwaja (호두과자)
- Korean Street Toast by Issac Toast (이삭토스트)
- Kimbap (김밥)
- Korean Fried Chicken (치킨)
- Dakgangjeong (닭강정)
- Ramen (라면)
- Rabokki (라볶이)
- Korean Shaved Ice – Bingsu (팥빙수)
- Korean Triangle Kimbap (삼각김밥)
Thanks for checking out my article about Korean Street Food!
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